Trolley assembly for sliding panels



J. H. TAYLOR 2,922,183

TROLLEY ASSEMBLY FOR SLIDING PANELS Filed March 31, 1958 IIg 1.

Jan. 26, 1960 5;: JOHN. Fix .01?

Unite States Pate TROLLEY ASSEMBLY FOR SLIDING PANELS John H. Taylor, Lachine, Quebec, Canada, assignor to Ross Engineering of Canada Limited, La Salle, Quebec, Canada Application March 31, 1958, Serial No. 725,165

4 Claims. (Cl. 16-87) The present invention relates to improvements in hanger units for sliding doors.

As is well known the usual arrangement for supporting a sliding door includes some form of a track or channel and wheel or roller bearing hangers mounted on the upper edge of the door are engaged with the track or channel to support theweight and guide the travel of the door.

The present invention aims to provide an improved hanger structure for sliding doors which is particularly suited for the mounting of multiple sliding access panels in large shrouding enclosures. As an example of the type of structure for which the present invention is particularly suited, see United States Patent No. 2,825,430 to F. W. Hooper, issued March 4, 1958 and which illustrates a complete hood structure adapted to enclose a high speed paper drying machine. This hood structure, of necessity includes a plurality of aligned sliding doors or panels which must be readily opened and closed to provide access to the machine for service and maintenance. Accordingly, it is of prime importance that the hanger units supporting the doors be sufiiciently sturdy to withstand considerable use and further that they can be readily removed and reinstalled for maintenance pruposes.

There is a problem with respect to the removing and installation of hanger units in constructions of this nature; i.e., multiple sliding doors in alignment on an elongated common track or channel, in that due to the construction of the usual hanger assemblies it is necessary, in order to remove or repair the rollers on any one door, to move the door or panel to one end of the supporting track or channel. If it happens to be one of the central doors or panels on an aligned row it also means that all the preceding doors have to be first removed.

In accordance with the present invention the supporting track and hanger assemblies are constructed so that it is possible to assemble or remove any desired set of rollers or if desired the entire door without having to move the door to the end of the track. This is accomplished by making the guiding rollers as separate remov able trolley units which are assembled to a special section forming the top edge or hanger member of the door. The supporting track is a standard channel section which is modified by the provision of spaced apart removable portions which constitute access openings permitting the removal of the trolley units. The section or hanger member is notched out at spaced intervals, usually at each end to receive the trolley units and these are made as having a central bearing portion adapted to fit within the section recesses and spaced apart alignment plates dis posed at each side of the bearing portion which overlap the hanger member section on each side of the cut-out.

'Each trolley unit is secured to the section by passing suit vention particular reference will be made to the accom panying drawings showing by way of illustration 3 preferred embodiment thereof and, in which:

Figure 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic front view of a portion of a sliding door arrangement embodying hanger assemblies in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail view of a portion of the construction shown in Figure 1 to show the relative position of a trolley unit and removable track section in more detail;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the construction shown in Figure 2 along the line 3-3 to illustrate the relative positions of the guiding track, trolley unit and hanger member section in more detail; I

Figure 4 is a sectional view, in plan, along the line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an exploded view of a trolley unit and hanger section portion to show the construction more clearly.

With particular reference to Figure 1 of the drawings a section of supporting track and a typical sliding door are shown to illustrate a hanger assembly in accordance with the present invention. While only one door is shown it will be understood that a plurality of such doors are normally mounted on the common track and are usually disposed in two rows with a second similar track mounted directly behind the track section shown.

As shown most clearly in Figures 2 and 3 the supporting track 10 is of substantially rectangular cross-section having an open slot 12 extending the full length with inwardly extending flange portions 14, '14a providing with the lower portion of the track section outer walls trolley guidingchannels 15a, 15b. The track 10 is suspended from the framework of the enclosure or building by angle clips 20 and suitable bolts 22 and when, as mentioned above, two such tracks are combined they are separated by an elongated plate (not illustrated) which also helps to align the tracks. In accordance with the invent on, the track 10 is provided with a removable section 30 comprising a portion of the top 31 and upper side wall 32 which is located at the attachment point of one of the suspension clips 20 so that by removal of the bolt the track section 30 can be removed providing an access opening to permit removal of the trolley units of the hanger assembly as will be described later. It is to be noted that in the preferred construction illustrated the removable section is about 6" in length and the lower portion of the channel section forming the guiding channel 15a is not cut so as to avoid reducing the strength of the track and eliminate alignment problems when replacing the section.

As shown in detail in Figures 3, 4 and 5 the hanger supporting member 38 attached to the door 40 comprises of an extruded cruciform section, preferably of aluminum, having an upper vertical section 42, a lower vertioa'lsection 44 and horizontal side sections 46a, 46b. The member 38 forms the upper edge of the door 40 with the sections 46a, 46b spanning the width with the side panels 41 of the door being attached to the lower vertical portion In the preferred construction a bumper 60 of solid aluminum is welded to each end of the member 38, see Figure 2. This bumper 60 serves the dual purpose of supporting thepanel end closing channels 61 and protecting the channel from contact with adjacent panels.

The upper vertical section 42 of the member 38 is notched adjacent each end to provide locating recesses 48 to receive the trolley unit 50, see Figure 5. Each trolley unit 50 consists of a main bearing body 52, which may be cast or fabricated of a variety of materials, for example, aluminum, galvanized steel, stainless steel or plastic material and equipped with a suitable bearing bushing, for example, of self-lubricated bronze. The

bearing body 52 includes a pair of spaced alignment and attachment plates 54 which are bored at each end to provide bolt accommodating openings 56. A pair of wheels 58, preferably of friction resistant plastic material, are mounted on a shaft 59 journalled in the bearing body bushing to complete the assembly.

The trolley units 50 are assembled to the upper vertical section 42 of the member 38 by means of bolts 53 and nuts 55 through the plate openings 56 and corresponding openings 56a drilled in the section 42. Aswill be appreciated the openings 56a in the section can be predrilled if desired or, since the trolley unit is self-aligning due to plates 54, can be drilled on assembly through the plate openings 56.

As shown in Figure 3 when assembled the wheels '58 ride on the track channels 15a, 15b, with the hanger member section 42 fitting through the channel slot 12. The combination of the hanger section and track channel shown provide an effective seal against the flow of air and water vapour from the interior of an enclosure, for example, as shown in United States Patent No. 2,825,430 as previously mentioned. Further, as will be best seen in 'Figure 3, the present arrangement is such that the wheels 58 will run equally as well on the bottom of the track without any part of the assembly fouling the suspension bolts or the bottom of the track. Accordingly, the track and doors can be arranged in an inverted position if desired or similar constructions can be utilized to guide each side of vertically sliding panels or doors.

With the hanger and track construction described installation or removal for repairs of any desired trolley unit is a simple matter and can be accomplished without the necessity of removing the doors or panels to the end of the supporting track as is usual at the present time. 9

The number of removable sections '30 on any supporting track will of course be determined by the length of the track and the number of doors or panels supported thereby and when it is desired to remove or repair any of the trolley units 50 the door is pushed to the nearest track section 30. By removal of the section 30 and the attachment bolts and nuts 53, 55, the trolley unit can be removed and repairs or replaced without the necessity of removing adjacent doors or dismantling of the track section. This is a distinct advantage over the prior art structures of this nature particularly when such assemblies are utilized in shrouding or hooding enclosures for drying machines or the like as previously mentioned.

I claim:

1. A hanger assembly for a sliding door comprising a hanger member having a first portion adapted for attachment to said door and a trolley supporting portion extending outwards from said first attachment portion, said trolley supporting hanger portion being provided with a recess extending inwardly from one marginal edge to constitute a trolley unit locating opening, a trolley unit removably mounted on said hanger trolley supporting portions at said locating recess, said trolley unithaving a central shaft bearing portion of lesser dimensions than said hanger portion recess adapting it to readily fit therein and a pair of parallel spaced apart alignment and attachment plates extending trans-axially outwards in opposed relationship from said central portion, said attachment plates including end portions overlapping said hanger trolley supporting portions bordering said locating recess, a pair of axially spaced apart wheels mounted at opposite sides of said trolley unit on a shaft extending axially through said central shaft bearing portion, and retaining members passing through said attachment plates ends and said hanger member portion so overlapped.

2. A hanger assembly for a sliding door comprising a hanger member having a first portion adapted for attachment to a marginal edge of said door and a trolley supporting portion extending outwardly from said first attachment portion and being provided with a plurality of spaced apart inwardly extending trolley unit locating recesses, and a plurality of trolley units mounted on said hanger member trolley supporting portion one at each of said locating recesses, each of said trolley units having a central cylindrical bearing portion having transaxial dimensions adapting it to readily fit within one of said hanger trolley supporting portion locating recesses and a pair of parallel spaced apart alignment and attachment plates extending trans-axially outwards in opposed relationship from said central bearing portion, said attachment plates including end portions overlapping portions of said hanger member trolley supporting portion bordering said locating recess, a pair of axially spaced apart wheels mounted in opposed relationship on a shaft extending axially through said trolley unit central bearing portion and centrally of said plates, and retaining members passing through said attachment plates end portions and said hanger member trolley supporting portions so overlapped.

3. A hanger assembly for a sliding door comprising a hanger member adapted for attachment to and in alignment with one marginal edge of said door and including an outstanding web portion directed away from said door edge, said hanger member web including a pair of spaced inwardly extending recesses constituting trolley unit accommodating openings; a pair of trolley units each consisting of a central bearing portion of a dimension adapted to fit readily within said hanger web recess and a pair of attachment and alignment plates extending in spaced apart relationship from said central bearing portion at each side, the spacing between said attachment plates being substantially equal to the thickness of said hanger web, and a pair of axially spaced apart wheels mounted on a common shaft extending through said bearing portion and plates for rotation at each side of said plates, said trolley units being mounted on said hanger web with each of said central bearing portions fitting within one of said web recesses with end portions of said attachment plates overlapping said web at each side of said recess, and retaining members passing through said plate end portions and hanger web.

4. A hanger assembly for a sliding door comprising a hanger member of cruciform cross-section having a lower perpendicular portion adapted to fit between opposed side panels of said sliding door, transverse side portions adapted to span the width of the marginal edge of said door and an upper perpendicular portion slotted inwardly at spaced intervals to provide trolley unit locating recesses, and a plurality of removable trolley units mounted on said hanger member upper perpendicular portion, one at each of said locating recesses, each of said trolley units having a central bearing portion adapted to fit within a corresponding hanger member upper perpendicular portion recess and a pair of parallel spaced apart attachment plates disposed one at each side of said central bearing portion and having end portions extending beyond said central bearing portion to overlap portions of said upper hanger perpendicular portion bordering said trolley locating recess, and a pair of axially spaced apart wheels journalled on said trolley unit central bearing portion and disposed in opposed relationship exteriorly of said attachment plates, each of said trolley units being secured to said hanger member upper perpendicular portion solely by bolts passing through said portion and said trolley unit alignment plates.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 594,582 Wildprett -2 Nov. 30, 1897 1,622,400 Shelly Mar. 29, 1927 2,446,887 Shearer Aug. 10, 1948 2,779,525 Vogel Jan. 29, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 61,191 Norway July 24, 1939 

